One Word Enduress - Hearing God’s Word and the Gift of Spiritual Direction

 

Readings 010226 

In times past, God spoke through the prophets.
But now—now He speaks through His Son.
Not a distant word, not a fading echo,
but a living Word, flesh and blood,
Jesus Christ dwelling among us.

God is still speaking.
The real question is whether we have learned to listen—
to notice His presence,
to recognize His voice,
to receive His invitations in the ordinary moments of our lives.

This is where the gift of spiritual direction comes in.
Spiritual direction is not therapy,
and it is not coaching.
It is something deeper—
a sacred companionship.
Spiritual direction offers a quiet, safe space
where your soul can breathe,
where your heart can rest,
and where God’s gentle movements can finally be heard.

In a world overflowing with noise,
this kind of listening becomes essential.

Saint John warns us: “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father.”
And we know how many voices surround us—
voices that distract, voices that deceive,
voices that promise light but leave us in shadows.

But the Word we heard from the beginning—
that Word remains.
That Word is true.
That Word is eternal life.
Spiritual direction helps us return to that Word,
to sift through the noise,
to recognize the voice of the Shepherd
who calls us by name.

John the Baptist understood this.
When asked, “Who are you?”
he did not claim greatness.
He simply said,
“I am the voice of one crying out in the desert:
Make straight the way of the Lord.”
He pointed beyond himself
to the One already among them.

And so it is for us.
We are voices—
voices in the deserts of our families,
our workplaces, our communities—
calling out:
Prepare your hearts.
Make straight the way.
Christ is here. Christ is coming.

We lend our voices to His invitation—
to remain in Him,
to let His anointing touch us,
to confess Him boldly as the Son of God.

Brothers and sisters,
only one Word endures.
Only one Light shines without fading.
Only one Son brings us into eternal life.
So let us cling to Christ.
Let us listen for His voice.
And let His light shine through us—
steady, radiant, true.

Amen.

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ,
Word made flesh, Light of the world,
we confess You as the Son of God,
the One who brings us eternal life.

Keep us steady in Your truth.
Guard us from the voices that deceive.
Let what we heard from the beginning remain in us,
so that we may remain in You and in the Father.

Make us voices in the desert—
voices that prepare the way,
voices that point to You alone.

Shine through us, Lord,
And lead us always into the promise You have made:
life without end in the Father’s house.

Amen.